Facing up to the Infodemic: Promoting Fact-Based Discourse in Times of Crisis Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, this paper series explores some of the key challenges facing democratic societies as a result of misinformation in the digital public sphere. It features a unique mosaic of perspectives and insights by experts from Israel and Germany that shed light on different facets of the phenomenon of online misinformation, with the aim of invigorating a societal debate on the issue as well as offering concrete ideas about how to address it.
Digital Public Sphere Dossier In the age of information, the digital public sphere serves as the modern agora, where ideas are exchanged, debates are held, and public opinion is shaped. This dossier delves into the complexities and challenges of navigating this digital landscape, where the vast potential for democratic engagement coexists with significant threats such as misinformation, privacy breaches, and unequal access.
Disinfo Talks Disinfo Talks is an interview series with experts from around the world, who tackle the challenge of disinformation through different prisms. Our talks showcase different perspectives on the various aspects of disinformation and the approaches to counter it.
"Our democracy is only as good as the information that voters have" Interview A conversation with Carlos Hernández- Echevarría from Maldita.es, a Spanish independent journalistic platform focused on the control of disinformation and public discourse through fact-checking and data journalism techniques.
"Things are not going to change until change happens in the US" Interview A conversation with Danny Rogers from the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) on the business model behind disinformation activities and ways to defund and disincentivize their propagators by providing the industry with clear definitions and data.
"We work to make the political campaigning environment more trustworthy, transparent and comprehensible for people." Interview A conversation with Sam Jeffers, Co-Founder of "Who Targets Me", about the power of social media, and particularly, of social media advertising in influencing people in election campaigns and ways of making the political campaigning environment more trustworthy, transparent and comprehensible for people.
"Deescalating polarization will contribute to diminishing the problem of misinformation" Interview A conversation with Nicole Krause from the Life Sciences Communication Department at the University of Wisconsin about science and political communication and ways to communicate more effectively with conservative, religious and rural audiences.
AI and Elections: Observations, Analyses and Prospects Spotlight This Spotlight explores how the ability of AI to disseminate information more effectively is prone to abuse and can pose a threat to democracy. It then discusses the preconditions and potential of AI to support the building of a critical public sphere. By Jessica Heesen
How does the DSA contribute to platform governance and tackle disinformation? Spotlight The DSA could help addressing the challenges of harmful content and disinformation online by increasing the legal protections while encouraging platforms to be more transparent and accountable without imposing requirements to generally monitor content. By Giovanni De Gregorio
What is Gendered Disinformation? Explainer One can say that fake news is old news, and so are misogyny, sexism, and gender stereotypes. What has changed in the digital era is the ease of coordinating, financing, and propagating disinformation campaigns. By Maria Giovanna Sessa
